1969 Chevrolet Caprice Base Hardtop 2-door 5.7l on 2040-cars

Caprice was the "top of the line" for the 1969 Chevrolet full size line up, yet it was not nearly as popular as the Impala. Despite that, it had all the luxury features available and plenty of additional trim to make it look lavish and expensive compared to Impala.

Caprice had wide trim extending from the front bumpers all the way to the rear, with a colored insert. Not to be confused with Impala, this trim was nearly twice the width of Impala's. They also had wide chrome trim that covered the entire rocker panel. Caprice, like Impala came with chrome trim around the wheel well openings. However, it had had double chrome rings on the inner and outer edges of each of the 6 tail lights. Also like Impala, Caprice had "Chevrolet" spelled out in individual letters across the front edge of the hood. Finally, unlike ALL other full size Chevrolet's for 1969, Caprice had CLEAR, not orange turn signal lenses in the front lower valance panel, to help set it apart from the other models.

Unlike Impala there was additional chrome trim that ran the full width of the car just above the rear bumper on the trunk lid and rear most edges of the rear fenders, and chrome trim surrounding the lower grille below the front bumper. As mentioned on the Impala page, we have seen several GM factory photos of Impala's sporting this Caprice trim, but research indicates that this trim is specific only to Caprice.

As far as the records go, hide away headlights were available ONLY on Caprice for 1969, despite the popular belief that Impala could have them also. This is according to all literature from GM we've seen on the matter. To date nobody has been able to prove otherwise, although you will find many Impalas that have been modified and had them added on by their owners. It is indeed possible given the existence of "COPO" and other special order methods of the '60's, that an Impala may have rolled off the line with this option. But unless someone can produce an un-modified Impala build sheet showing a factory installation of this option, it appears this belief is destined to remain a myth.

The 1969 Caprice and other full-sized Chevrolets were restyled with crisper body lines and front bumpers that wrapped around the grille (again with optional concealed headlights, for which headlight washers could be added as a new "one year only" option) along with ventless front windows on all models. The 119-inch (3,023 mm) wheelbase, inner bodyshell and framework were carried over from the 1965 model – along with the rooflines of pillared four-door sedans (which were offered in lesser Impala, Bel Air and Biscayne series, but not on Caprices, which continued only in two- and four-door hardtop choices only). The station wagon was renamed the Kingswood Estate, but continued to use exterior wood grain trim along with exterior and interior trim shared with Caprice sedans and coupes. Inside, front seat headrests were now standard equipment due to a federal safety mandate and the ignition switch moved from the dashboard to the steering column and doubled as a lock for the steering wheel when the key was removed, a Federal mandate that took effect with the 1970 models but introduced a year earlier on all General Motors cars except the Corvair.

The 1969 Caprice also offered a new GM-designed variable-ratio power steering unit as optional equipment along with a seldom-ordered "Liquid Tire Chain" option, which was a vacuum activated button that would spray ice melt on the rear tires (UPC option code is "V75"). The standard engine was enlarged to a 235 hp (175 kW) 327 cu in (5.4 L) V8 with optional engine choices including a new 350 cu in (5.7 L) Turbo Fire V8 rated at 255 and 300 hp (220 kW), a 265 hp (198 kW) 396 cu in (6.5 L) cubic-inch Turbo Jet V8, and 427 cu in (7.0 L) cubic-inch Turbo Jet V8s rated at 335 and 390 hp (291 kW). All V8 engines were now available with the three-speed Turbo Hydramatic transmission for the first time though the two-speed Powerglide was still offered with the 327 and 350 V8s.

The 1970 Caprice received a minor facelift featuring a more conventional under the grille bumper replacing the wrap-around unit used in 1969 along with new triple vertical taillights in the rear bumper. Power front disc brakes and fiberglass-belted tires on 15-inch (380 mm) wheels were made standard equipment along with a larger 250 hp (186 kW) 350 cubic-inch Turbo Fire V8. Optional V8s included a 300 hp (220 kW) 350 and a new 265 hp (198 kW) 400 cu in (6.6 L) Turbo Fire V8. At the top of the engine roster, the big block 427 was replaced by a new (longer stroke) 454 cu in (7.4 L) Turbo Jet V8 offered in power ratings of 345 hp (257 kW) and 390 hp (290 kW). Both the 250- and 265 hp (198 kW) Turbo Fire engines were designed to use regular gasoline while the 300 hp (220 kW) 350 Turbo Fire and both 454 Turbo Jet engines required premium fuel. A three-speed manual transmission with column shift was standard equipment as in previous years but the floor-mounted four-speed manual with Hurst shifter was dropped from the option list for 1970 as were the Strato bucket seats and center console previously offered on coupes. Automatic transmission options included the two-speed Powerglide on 350 V8s and Turbo Hydramatic with all engines.